Mental Fitness Now™

There is a saying in Qi Gong circles that ” an anxious mind cannot live in a relaxed body”. This is a statement worth taking seriously as it is 100% true. If we can keep our body relaxed and comfortable, then this in turn will help our mind not to over think, over worry an generally exhaust itself needlessly.

In todays society one of the main problems that we face is that our minds, bodies and nervous systems are overstimulated, resulting in a continuous state of tension. It feels as if we are almost permanently trapped in survival or “fight or flight” mode.

In this article I want to look at two simple ways of countering this problem through body relaxation:

1. Learn to breathe properly
2. Get enough sleep

1. Learn to breathe properly

One of the simplest ways that I explain in my seminars, talks and workshops to relax the body is to take one minute, four times a day (Eg: Once upon rising from bed, once before lunch, once mid-afternoon and once before bed) to do some breathing exercises. Here is a simple example:

• For one minute, consciously focus on making your inhalation and exhalation equal in duration. Breathe deeply, to about 70% of your lung capacity. Make the duration of the inhalation and exhalation WITHIN your comfort zone, you should not feel out of breath at any time. As you breathe in mentally do a slow count “1,2, 3″ reaching the top of your breath on 3. As you breathe out, inwardly count “1,2,3″ reaching the bottom of your exhalation on 3.

Once you are used to this basic pattern of focused, even breathing, you can elaborate it in the following manner:

• As you breathe in to your slow count of 3, feel yourself breathing light into your body, energizing and refershing it. As you breathe out to your slow count of 3 feel your mind and body releasing tension as the air leaves your lungs.

If you do this consistently on a regular basis each day I promise you will find that your body’s energy will become more relaxed and balanced, and that this in turn will help your mind to be more mentally balanced, relaxed and resilient.

For some more basic tips on healthy breathing please refer to my article on “Basic facets of healthy Qi gong breathing” .

2. Get enough sleep!

This is at the same time one of the simplest and most difficult for busy humans to learn. It is very simple because if you feel well rested, then everything else in your life, both your physical, mental and emotional challenges will seem 30-50% easier! When you are not able to get enough sleep your body feels tired, your mind irritable.

The subjective experience of regularly not getting enough sleep is like you have a rope around your waist attached to a rubber tyre that you  are having to drag behind you all the time. Life just feels harder and tougher.

So, very simply you can make it MUCH EASIER to be mentally tough and resilient by organizing your time and life in such a way that you get enough sleep! This is a lesson that I myself have had to learn the hard way, as in the past I have made my life more difficult that I needed to just by trying to continually “tough it” through fatigue, and not listen to my body’s needs for rest.

In terms of the science of sleep, here is a short quote gleaned from an article by Naturopathic Doctor Dr Sunderdas entitled “The dangers of sleep deprivation” I would encourage you to read the full article as it really makes clear the importance of appropriate sleep for many different reasons:

“In brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. This part of sleep is when HGH or Human Growth Hormone is naturally generated. If you are not asleep, what happens is that you generate cortisol which is a stress hormone that has the long term effects of accelerating ageing and leading the production of toxic substances like IL-6, TNF-alpha and cRP.

The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type. For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).”

In conclusion, in order to support and develop your mental resilience:

-          Regularly relax your body through breathing exercises

-          Schedule in enough sleep to keep your body and mind well rested and healthy!   

For more articles on mental resilence please go the the mental resilience catgory.

© Toby Ouvry 2010.  You are welcome to use this article, but you must seek Toby’s permission first. Contact info@mentalfitnessnow.com